The Westfield senior housing project was defeated four times by Town Meeting voters before finally getting approval in 2010.

A committee then spent hours tweaking and rewording a request for proposals document in hopes of attracting bids from developers to get the project built.

Despite all of the work, the project has received little interest from developers in the handful of times it has been sent out for bids.

Now, the Westfield project is going back to Town Meeting, and its future is uncertain.

"We didn't get any bidders," said Selectman Alan Slavin. "The project ... in the economy right now, with the way it is outlined, and the way it has to be done ... we had nobody bid."

The proposal to build affordable senior housing units on the 77-acre Westfield property in West Wareham has been a topic of heated debate for years.

In four appearances before Town Meeting, voters argued that Wareham's existing senior housing units at Agawam Village should be rehabbed, and perhaps more units should be built at that location. Others worried about the number of affordable units and about what would become of the athletic fields at the property.

Finally, in its fifth appearance before voters in November, 2010, a proposal was approved with stipulations that not more than one-third of the property be used for senior housing, that all units be affordable and restricted to seniors, and that any developer hired to complete the project be required to maintain the property's athletic fields.

Voters' concerns were quelled, but with the lack of bids from developers, town officials say perhaps the proposal is too ambitious.

"I think this is doable to bring affordable housing to the elderly in Wareham," Selectman Steve Holmes told the Selectmen during a recent meeting. "It's certainly doable. But this particular approach is obviously not going to work."

Citing the need for affordable senior housing in Wareham, Slavin said he is frustrated "that we have not been able to sit down with developers and come up with a package that they would bid on."

The town has certainly tried.

A December, 2011 workshop intended to be a discussion between town officials and developers about how to make the project more attractive was canceled, again due to little interest from developers.

It is unclear what will happen next, but it is unlikely that shovels will be in the ground any time soon.

The Selectmen hope to get Westfield on October's Town Meeting agenda to update voters on the project's status.